How to Bake Lemon-Pepper Fish

Stuff trout with lemon, herbs and pepper makes for a delicious meal.

Lemon goes naturally well with almost any fish. Pepper adds a piquant flavor. Together, with a few herbs, they turn ordinary fish into a gourmet treat. Plan on one whole cleaned trout for each serving. Keep the trout in the fridge while you prepare the vegetables and herbs. Round out the meal by baking onions and potatoes at the same time you bake the lemon-pepper fish; and serve with a green salad and dressing that reflects the lemon, pepper and herbs.

Things You'll Need

• Trout, 8 oz. each gutted and cleaned
• Lemons
• Dill
• Parsley
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Small bowl
• 1 tsp. dill seed
• Large onion
• Medium potatoes
• Garlic cloves garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• Baking pan

Instructions

1. Prepare the vegetables and herbs by first washing the parsley and dill. Chop 2 tbsp. of each.. Wash the scallions, then cut off the roots taking as little of the white part of the scallion bulb next to the roots. Chop the rest into slices no more than a quarter inch thick. Wash the lemons, and zest one whole lemon. Cut the other lemon in slices as thin as possible, no more than 1/4-inch thick - make at least six slices. Scrub the potatoes and remove the peel from the onion.

2. Juice the zested lemon into a small bowl. Add 2 tbsp. of the chopped herbs, dill seed, scallions and the lemon zest. Mince the garlic and add it in. Add 1/4 tsp. of freshly ground pepper, and mix thoroughly.

3. Slice the potatoes and onion into slices no more than 1/4-inch thick. Lay them in the bottom of a roasting pan sprayed with cooking oil.

4. Place the trout fillets on a cutting board. Sprinkle the inside of the cavity with 1/8 tsp. of freshly ground pepper. Put a layer of lemon slices, at least three, into the body cavity. Stuff the body cavity with the scallions, 4 or 5 sprigs each of parsley and dill. Put the stuffed trout on top of the potatoes and onions in the roasting pan.

5. Drizzle the lemon juice mixture over the trout and the potatoes and onions.

6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the fish is done. The flesh should be firm and white without any hint of translucence.

Tips & Warnings

• Use any firm white fish fillet instead of trout.

• Wrap the fish, potatoes and onions in aluminum foil packets and grill instead of bake.

• Don't over cook fish it dries out quickly.

References

• "Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining"; Martha Stewart; 1994
• "Earth-bound Cook"; Myra Goodman; 2010